2015ApJ...810L..17G

We report our serendipitous discovery of a candidate debris disk around the recently identified DA white dwarf (WD) SDSS J114404.74+052951.6. The Ca ii infrared (IR) triplet, while weakly detected in the source's optical spectrum, shows a double-peak like profile, and near-IR excesses are also detected from broadband imaging. The two features are commonly seen in the WD gaseous debris disks, and thus indicate the existence of such a disk around the DA WD. We further analyze the emission lines and broadband IR excesses and estimate that the debris disk may have a size of 20-50 R_DW and an inclination angle of 82°. The estimated temperature and cooling age for this WD are 23,027 K and ∼21 Myr, respectively, making it possibly one of the hottest and youngest among candidates of WD debris-disk systems. These properties are also in line with the likely conditions for having a sufficiently bright debris disk. Further observations of the source are warranted in order to determine the debris disk's properties and search for more absorption features of heavy elements.